Human anatomy is regularly taught in most school curriculums. Nevertheless, it has been found that many educated children and adults cannot locate their major internal organs, even while referencing their own bodies. Knowing where organs lie within our bodies is not only important for those in science and medicine, but also for general health awareness and maintenance.
Multimedia and computer-based training have emerged as effective tools employed by most U.S. educational institutions. Despite their impressive successes, these tools are still limited in their ability to spark students' engagement, motivation, and interest in learning.
Educational computer games introducing or reinforcing material have been used in classrooms to help address these issues. However, standard gamification of material may not be enough to stimulate a personal interest and encourage students to engage in desired learning behaviors. Many games do not captivate ongoing interest in the underlying subject matter. Furthermore, there are effects on material learned in an unnatural context, such as a book or screen-based game when transferred to a natural application context.
In view of the above discussion, it can be appreciated that it would be desirable to have improved ways of teaching human anatomy.